US stocks eased back near the close but still closed higher a year on from the bottom of the recent market weakness.

Dow Jones closed 11 higher at 10,564. Nasdaq added 8 to 2,340, while the S&P gained 1 at 1,140. The Dow has now risen over 61% since it hit a 12-year low of 6,547 on 9 March.

Cisco Systems has introduced a router that can cope with 12 times as much internet traffic as any competitor product. Cisco claims the router can deliver every film ever made in four minutes. AT&T is trialling the technology.

Late on Monday, Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent EADS pulled out of bidding for a $35bn contract to build refuelling tankers for the US air force. Rival Boeing, the world's second-biggest aerospace company, is now expected to pick up the work making it one of the best performers in the Dow.

Shares in mobile communications firm Sprint-Nextel continue to rise after yesterday's positive figures. Health care giants Merck and French peer Sanofi-Aventis have agreed to form a 50-50 animal-health joint venture.

Jet engines and elevators manufacturer United Technologies was raised from neutral to outperform by Cowen & Co. JPMorgan Chase cut First Solar from neutral to underweight.

S&P 500 - Risers
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $32.77 +12.61%
Citigroup Inc. (C) $3.82 +7.30%
Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $3.61 +6.18%
Southwestern Energy (SWN) $43.89 +3.88%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Invesco Ads (IVZ) $19.99 -5.17%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $18.43 -3.20%
Kroger Co (KR) $22.35 -2.40%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $100.63 -2.28%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $71.78 +1.44%
General Electric Co. (GE) $16.49 +1.35%
AT&T Inc. (T) $25.56 +1.11%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $29.91 +0.94%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $31.68 -0.88%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $37.04 -0.83%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $13.67 -0.80%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $17.23 -0.69%

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